1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an air-conditioner, and more particularly to a method for controlling the operation of an air-conditioner to adjust the temperature in a room in which the air-conditioner is installed, by appropriately changing the operating condition of the air-conditioner, depending on the variation in the current room temperature, in order to always maintain a delightful room temperature.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With reference to FIG. 1 which is a schematic diagram showing the construction of a conventional air-conditioner, the air-conditioner comprises a remote controller 1 for generating a radio remote control signal, such as an infrared signal, according to an operator's selection, a radio remote control signal receiving circuit 2 for converting the remote control signal received thereby into a signal which is recognizable by a microcomputer 4, then outputting the recognizable signal to the microcomputer 4, and a key matrix circuit 3 for generating a control key signal in accordance with the operator's selection, then outputting the key signal to the microcomputer 4. The microcomputer 4 is electrically connected at input ports thereof to the circuits 2 and 3, respectively, thus generates control signals in response to the signals outputted from the circuits 2 and 3 thereto, then outputs the control signals. Additionally, the microcomputer 4 is electrically connected at an output port thereof to a motor driving circuit 5 for driving a motor 6 under the control of the microcomputer 4. The motor driving circuit 5 is in turn electrically connected to a louver 7 by way of the motor 6, the louver 7 being installed at a cool air discharging passage of the air-conditioner and being capable of moving upwards and downwards by virtue of the motor 6 in order to control the discharging direction of the cool air, that is, a long distance discharge or a short distance discharge of the wind, and also to control the amount of wind.
A fan motor driving circuit 8 is provided for the air-conditioner in order to drive a fan motor 9, electrically connected thereto, under the control of the microcomputer 4. The fan motor 9 is used for cooling the warm air which entered the air-conditioner from the room, by virtue of a cooling agent, such as cooling water or cooling air supplied from the outside, then supplying the cool air for the room. In addition, the rotational speed of the fan motor 9 is controlled by the fan motor driving circuit 8 in order to provide a desired discharging speed of the cool air, the cool air being conventionally classified by the discharging speed thereof into three types, such as a strong wind, a mild wind and a gentle wind. In addition, the microcomputer 4 is electrically connected at an input port thereof to an oscillation circuit 10 for outputting a clock signal to the microcomputer 4. The air-conditioner is provided with a display circuit 11 for displaying the present operation of the air-conditioner under the control of the microcomputer 4, an outside fan and compressor driving circuit 12 for driving an outside fan and a compressor 13, and a reset circuit 14 for initializing the microcomputer 4, the circuits 11, 12 and 14 being electrically connected to output port of the microcomputer 4, respectively. Additionally, a power supply circuit 15 is provided in order to supply electric power to the air-conditioner.
Referring next to FIG. 2 which is a sectional view of the louver 7 hinged to the cool air discharging passage of the conventional air-conditioner of FIG. 1, the louver 7 is first located at an initial position P.sub.4 when the air-conditioner is turned on, and is located at another position P.sub.5 when the air-conditioner is turned off.
The operation of the conventional air-conditioner having the construction shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described hereinafter in conjunction with flowcharts shown FIGS. 3A and 3B. Here, a description of the general operation of the air-conditioner will be omitted because it is well known to the skilled person in the art of this invention, but control of the louver 7 and the fan motor 9 which are concerned with this invention will be described in detail.
As described above, the louver 7 is generally hinged to a portion of the cool air discharging passage. Thus, the louver 7 is capable of controlling the discharging direction and discharging amount of the cool air, thereby causing the cool air to be discharged to a range of relatively longer distance or to a range of relatively shorter distance. Here, the louver 7 is fully opened when it is intended to cause the cool air to be discharged to the longer distance range, which results in the discharge of relatively large amount of cool air, while it is slightly opened when it is intended to cause the cool air to be discharged to the shorter distance range, which results in the discharge of relatively small amounts of cool air. Briefly described, the nearer the louver 7 to the position P.sub.4, the longer is the discharging distance of the cool air, and the nearer the louver 7 to the position P.sub.5, the shorter the discharging distance of the cool air.
FIG. 3A shows a flowchart of a control process for controlling the position of the louver 7. Upon feeling that the air-conditioner does not appropriately provide the cool air, such as due to directly feeling the undue chill of the cool air or feeling the heat because most of the discharged cool air is supplied to unnecessary parts of the room, the operator inputs a louver location change mode signal S.sub.1 to the microcomputer 4 by means of the remote controller 1 or the key matrix circuit 3, thereby causing the microcomputer 4 to perform the routine shown in FIG. 3A. First, the microcomputer 4 determines whether the signal S.sub.1 for selecting the location of the louver 7 has been received. If it is determined that the signal S.sub.1 has not been received, the microcomputer 4 returns to the initial step of the routine, while it initializes the location of the louver 7 when the signal S.sub.1 has been received. At this time, the initial position of the louver 7 is the position P.sub.4 of FIG. 2 because the air-conditioner is in operation.
Thereafter, the microcomputer 4 determines which position of the positions P.sub.1 to P.sub.3 corresponds to the signal S.sub.1, then outputs a control signal corresponding to the determined position of the louver 7 to the motor driving circuit 5 in order to cause the louver 7 to move. At this time, the microcomputer 4 drives the display circuit 11 to display thereon the present position of the louver 7, which in turn ends the routine. For example, if the operator feels the heat and also it is determined that he is located a relatively long distance from the air-conditioner, he will control the air-conditioner in order to move the louver 7 toward the position P.sub.4, thereby causing the cool air to be discharged to a longer distance. While he feels the undue chill of the cool air, he will control the air-conditioner in order to move the louver 7 toward the position P.sub.5, thereby causing the cool air to be discharged to a shorter distance.
However, if it is determined that the signal S.sub.1 does not correspond to any one of the positions P.sub.1 to P.sub.3, the microcomputer 4 recognizes the signal S.sub.1 as an error signal, and drives the display circuit 11 to display an error message, and then ends the routine.
Of course, the operator can manually control the position of the louver 7.
FIG. 3B is a flowchart of a control process for controlling the rotational speed of the fan motor 9.
Upon feeling that the discharging speed of the cool air from the air-conditioner is not appropriate, such as an unduly higher or lower speed, the operator inputs a fan motor rotational speed control mode signal to the microcomputer 4 by means of the remote controller 1 or the key matrix circuit 3, thereby causing the microcomputer 4 to perform the routine shown in FIG. 3B. First, the microcomputer 4 determines whether a signal S.sub.2 for controlling the rotational speed of the fan motor 9, that is, the discharging speed of the cool air, has been received. If it is determined that the signal S.sub.2 has not been received, the microcomputer 4 returns to the initial step of the routine, while it initializes the rotational speed of the fan motor 9 when the signal S.sub.2 has been received. Here, the initial state of the rotational speed of the fan motor 9 means the stop state thereof.
Thereafter, the microcomputer 4 determines which type of cool air of the strong wind, the mild wind and the gentile wind corresponds to the signal S.sub.2, then outputs a control signal corresponding to the determined type of cool air to the fan motor driving circuit 8 to drive the fan motor 9 at the determined rotational speed.
At the same time, the microcomputer 4 drives the display circuit 11 to display the present wind speed thereon, and ends the routine.
However, if it is determined that the signal S.sub.2 does not correspond to any type of cool air, the microcomputer 4 recognizes the signal S.sub.2 as an error signal, drives the display circuit 11 to display an error message, and then ends the routine.
Here, as the motor 6 does not comprise a step motor, the microcomputer 4 can not recognize the previous position of the louver 7. Thus it initializes the position of the louver 7, and then drives the motor 6 in order to locate the louver 7 at a desired position.
As described above, the conventional air-conditioner may control the discharging direction, the discharging speed and the discharging amount of cool air by manual control or radio remote control.
However, the conventional air-conditioner is provided with no device for automatically controlling the discharging direction, the discharging speed and the discharging amount of cool air in accordance with the temperature of the cool air which is practically perceived by the operator, thus it has a disadvantage in that it can not provide a delightful room having an optimum temperature by appropriately changing the operation thereof in accordance with a change of the room temperature.